It has been a tough week in Joe’s Garage with treatments getting in the way of getting down to the business of producing From The Basement. But better days are always ahead and we finally have episode #46 (Joe’s Garage Act VIII) to share. New music from Johnnyswim, Stephen Malkmus, A.A. Bondy and the return of The Long Ryders lead the way, as well as a new live release from Peter Gabriel. We pay tribute to “the voice of God” Ken Nordine, who transitioned to the next world at the ripe old age of 98, and have a brand new pop nugget from Jersey pals The Weeklings with special guest Peter Noone. As promised last episode we dive into the criminally overlooked Sensational Alex Harvey Band and raid the divine archives for gems from Ups & Downs, Warren Zevon, Alkaline Trio, Gil-Scott Heron and Brian Jackson, Curtis Mayfield, Chris Isaak, Ultravox, The Jags, Dr. John, Talk Talk, Uncle Green and the proverbial whole bunch more. Thanks for listening and your donations (https://paypal.me/pools/c/8beKwFWlHR) make this all possible.
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The number “45” is one of the magical numbers for record freaks, it’s just too bad we couldn’t coordinate this episode with March 31, which was the date in 1949 that RCA-Victor introduced the first 45 rpm record to replace shellac 78’s. It’s early February here in NJ and this episode will introduce you to a huge batch of new music from the likes of Manu Katche, Andrew Bird, Patty Griffin, The Dandy Warhols, the return of The Specials and The Lemonheads, Jealous Of The Birds, the sprawling remake of a classic by Mercury Rev (with help from Hope Sandoval, Norah Jones and Lucinda Williams), tracks from the documentary on cult hero Van Duren, the great Mavis Staples captured live in London, Galactic’s fabulous new funk, Sharon Van Etten and a revitalized Hunt Sales blistering new project. That’s just the new stuff. Much more can be found within this 3+ hour romp in the basement. Thanks so much for the donations (https://paypal.me/pools/c/8beKwFWlHR) and most of all for listening.

​Episode #44 (Joe’s Garage Act VI) finds us once again traversing the musical map with an emphasis on some new stuff from Carlos Santana, Weezer, Bob Mould, Steve Gunn, Josh Ritter, Guided By Voices, William Tyler, Deer Tick and the sublime Lee Harvey Osmond. Steven Wilson makes his usual appearance and there’s a recently unearthed studio rarity from Stan Ridgway, long a Basement favorite. Connective tissue is supplied by everyone from Nick Drake to Talk Talk, Magazine to XTC, Chris Cornell to Michael Jackson by way of Pink Floyd, The National, The Cure and The Twilight Singers, to name but a few. Thanks so much for the support (@ http://mikemarrone.com) and for listening most of all.

Just in time for the weekend we are pleased to present episode #43 (Joe’s Garage, Act V) for your listening pleasure. This one features previously unreleased stuff from cover star Keith Richards, a dive into Joe Jackson’s wonderful new album, the return of The Flesh Eaters, new music from Son Volt, Beck, Night Beats, Jenny Lewis, a mind blowing performance of John Lennon’s “Mother” from The Roots and last but not least, the unedited version of a new Ryan Adams tune. Somehow musical connections are made between Tommy Bolan, Steven Wilson, Uriah Heep and Billy Cobham, we check in with old friends Immaculate Fools, Urge Overkill, Too Much Joy and Jay Ferguson, and manage to visit with Jimmy Dean, Aerosmith, Alejandro Escovedo, Supertramp, The Dismemberment Plan, The Only Ones, Richard Ashcroft, Love Nut, The Rolling Stones and so much more.

I was initially thinking of Jackie Robinson and Mariano Rivera when putting music together for From The Basement #42 but the overwhelming weight that our current President has foisted upon the country kept breaking through. Every single day we seem to slip further into Bizarro World and music is really the only thing keeping many of us as sane as possible. Listen for new stuff from Gary Clark Jr.,John Kilzer and The Killers that speak to the current madness/malaise, as well as new arrivals from Sharon Van Etten, The Drops, Karen O with Danger Mouse, The Claypool Lennon Delirium and Quin Kirchner that stand out from the pile. We have a wonderful new album from Deerhunter and a rare King Crimson track, just issued to celebrate the 50th year of the band. Add in some Motown sides, a classic or two from Procol Harum, Joni Mitchell and Yes, another dip into the Steven Wilson discography thanks to Joe and tunes from The Blue Nile, Alejandro Escovedo, Lloyd Cole, vintage Portugal The Man, Prince, Thin Lizzy and a whole bunch more.

A huge thank you to all who have contributed to support this program, I am completely overwhelmed with gratitude and needed a few boxes of tissues reading your beautiful comments. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Episode #41 (the 3rd installment from Joe’s Garage) finds the return of Pedro The Lion, some new things from Radiohead, Beirut and Tedeschi Trucks Band, fabulous historical reissues from Johnny Cash and The Staples Singers, rare Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello and Joe’s regular Steve Wilson choice cut. Somehow Big Joe Turner meets The Wildhearts via The Replacements and connections are made from Squarepusher to Pink Floyd, Sohn to Sonny & Cher and Miles Davis mixes it up with Jimi Hendrix and Morphine… and that’s not even half the show! Please enjoy responsibly and thanks again for your beautiful contributions. To donate go to http://mikemarrone.com ​

Episode 40 (#2 from Joe’s Garage) is kind of a landmark as I have finally gotten around to configuring a way to actually pay for the show. If you are already onhttp://mikemarrone.comsimply look to the right and click Donate. If not, please go there and look to the right. Okay? Thanks. Musically speaking, this episode manages to cover all the major musical food groups and features a new remastered material from Matthew Sweet and Ben E. King, rare live stuff from two of our finest humans -- Peter Holsapple with Syd Straw, a jazzy take on Blondie from The Bad Plus, the jazz genius of Dave Brubeck, live stuff from the latest tour from The Dream Syndicate (with Chris Cacavas) and Todd Rundgren recorded in 1971. Also Let’s Active, Game Theory, The dB’s, Simon & Garfunkel, Lou Reed, The Byrds, John Cale, Polar Bear, The Roots, Renaissance, Joe’s Steven Wilson pick, The Grapes Of Wrath, The Posies, eels, Maia Sharp, Split Enz, Yes, Ani Difranco, Lori Carson, Spoon, OMD and even Peter & Quagmire with my current earworm. We remember Dean Ford of Marmalade, who passed last week at age 73 to the Afterparty In The Sky and still manage to fit in Chris Bell, Harry Nilsson and Three Dog Night into the mix, without a trainwreck in sight or sound.​

Many have inquired about sending funds to help with the cost of doing my From The Basement programs and I have resisted as I was able to cover it. However, now that I am unemployed it has become very clear that I cannot fund it completely on my own for much longer. With that in mind, I have setup a PayPal account to handle the transactions. I am not asking for any amount in particular and appreciate anything you wish to donate. You can find the button to click on the right of the page under my name. Now that I am cancer free I am planning to do more shows while I continue my job search. The best case scenario would be to do a new show everyday and have the donations provide me with enough money to pay my bills. Hey... I can dream, can't I? Thanks as always for listening and thanks even more for helping me fund this venture.

Episode #39 is the first episode recorded in the land of my birth, glorious New Jersey as we begin the series From The Basement in Joe's Garage! New music from The Raconteurs, the return of Swervedriver, new live stuff from the latest incarnation of King Crimson, a remastered release from the great Stan Ridgway are some of the highlights. And we reap the benefits of UMG's copyright extension plunder of the Motown vaults for a heap of previously unreleased material dating back to 1968 from David Ruffin, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops and Jr. Walker. Speaking of vaults, the latest release from the Springsteen vault is the historic 1979 No Nukes performance, which we explore a bit and for some reason spend some time with the number 9. It's great to be back on Jersey soil and even better that bread and pizza finally taste like they are supposed to. As always, thanks so much for listening.

​Merry Christmas to all. This is the final edition of From The Basement to come from my basement studio in Maryland. The movers arrive on Boxing Day, which just struck me as quite ironic considering the boxing is pretty much complete. Episode #38 is essentially a personal mixtape of tunes I wanted to hear while driving to my home state of New Jersey, where we will temporarily set up a series of tents and appliance boxes... hopefully with power and a rocking internet connection. We'll end this arc of the series with sets of personal musical touchstones that summon emotions of beginnings, endings, failure and success, hope and joy and the renewed enthusiasm to continue pushing the rock up the hill. Love to you all for a happy, healthy and love filled Holiday and as always, thanks for listening.

Mike Marrone

​Many have asked how to keep the From The Basement programs afloat, especially now that I am unemployed. Please donate via PayPal below whatever you feel you can afford to help cover my costs. Thank you.​